We were all set for tonight’s task – confirmed yesterday evening..But then, well into this afternoon, I was told there’d be no-one to look after us at the canal club. A substitute task was set up at St Matthews, and I sent round a message and an email, All this took me away from my work-work, so if you hear that the Government has missed its housing targets, it’s because we missed going to the canal club

St Matthews is a handy reserve venue; Lady Andrea said we can drop in any time, recklessly entrusting me with the gate key as well as the top-secret code for the shed. I left a hand-written notice at the site of the original task, in case somebody didn’t get the message, but I think everyone picked up on the change. Unless Northern Emma is still waiting vainly at the canal club gates now

Having the key is one thing. Successfully navigating the heavy, rusty old gate is another. Thankfully, this panic was soon over, thanks to Emmanuel who helped me unlock it, and then later Sam who assisted with locking it up again

No-one seemed keen to weed in the dark, but never mind, there were plenty of leaves to be gathered. Unfortunately we only had one - admittedly very large – bag, and the capacity of the bin by the gate was well below our leaf-gathering potential. But we soon found what looked like a composting area, with abundant room for fallen fronds

Everyone chipped in to help. Ilana held a spade to stop it falling over. Kate set a 2026 course record for the largest leaf volume collected by a single leaf-grabber. Lucinda sent a proxy but still arrived with nearly half the task remaining. Adam helped both Ciarán (with his survey) and Emma (with her furniture). And the latter indulged in her unique style of aerial photography to capture the group photo

Seriously, it was fun meeting you Isabela, hope to see you at many more, better organised tasks. Good to see you back, Kate and Kirsti. Get well soon, Northern Emma. And best wishes to Lady Andrea of this parish, who is recovering well from a serious operation. And has been short-listed by Tower Hamlets In Bloom for best balcony!

In conjunction with Werewolf Brewery, GoodGym Camden spent Sunday lunchtime improving the conditions on the Regent’s Canal towpath. On our way from the brewery to the canal, litter pickers and bags in hand, we couldn’t resist picking up what had been dropped on the side streets. We even helped a poor tree which had become a receptable for a variety of drink containers and paper matter

We were expecting to be plucking bottles and other debris from the water, but the canal itself was in pristine condition. The towpath wasn’t too bad either, but we did find many bits of litter tucked away in corners and crevices, and by the surrounding fences and greenery . This Included one haul of DVD covers – how long must they have been there – of perhaps dubious quality, glorying in the less-than-imaginative titles ‘Girls Love Girls’ , ‘Young Harlots’ and ‘English Lesbian Lovers’. It might be smut, but at least it’s British slut…

This wonderful crew dug and dug and dug some more, filled umpteen (at least!) bags of soil, and left a whole bunch of planters decanted and ready for refurbishing :)

Thanks, folks!